Who Are Active Bystanders?
Active Bystanders are people who already know, through previous actions or just by how they respond to emergencies, that if they came across a road incident, they would want to pull over and see how they can help. They may not know what to do exactly, but they believe doing something is better than nothing.
Who Are The Prepared Bystanders?
The Prepared Bystanders are an online community of citizens sharing the common goal of providing evidence-based, best-practice care to people + pets involved in a road incident. If you consider yourself an Active Bystander, then this might be for you.
Through a series of journalistic-style education films and live Q&A sessions, community members will have their concerns addressed and hopefully feel empowered to provide best-practice care when needed.
Through a series of journalistic-style education films and live Q&A sessions, community members will have their concerns addressed and hopefully feel empowered to provide best-practice care when needed.
Why are we creating a group called The Prepared Bystanders?
For many years, researchers and academics have tried to study bystanders at a road incident but found it difficult to say that what we are doing is helping or just buying time until the "real helpers", the emergency service personnel, get there. If you have stopped to help at a road crash or any accident that has occurred, you know that what we do is valuable, especially to the person who is injured. Even though we are willing to "do something to help", not all of us really know what to do. We simply "hope for the best". Could you sit a Year 12 exam "hoping for the best"? Why are we doing that when people's lives depend on us?
It is important that what we do doesn't make the situation worse for the casualty or anyone around the scene. It is also for our own confidence level in a crisis that we can trust in ourselves and our skills. It is for this reason that I feel a specific training course in road incident management, that builds on a basic first aid course, would benefit communities. With the increasing number of deaths on the road from 2021 to 2024 (and no different in 2025 so far!), if we can't prevent the crash, we may as well try to keep the injured people alive for hospitals to take care of them.
It is important that what we do doesn't make the situation worse for the casualty or anyone around the scene. It is also for our own confidence level in a crisis that we can trust in ourselves and our skills. It is for this reason that I feel a specific training course in road incident management, that builds on a basic first aid course, would benefit communities. With the increasing number of deaths on the road from 2021 to 2024 (and no different in 2025 so far!), if we can't prevent the crash, we may as well try to keep the injured people alive for hospitals to take care of them.
So, who are we calling on first?
Women aged 40-70 years old who identify as physically and mentally well and know they want to help at a road incident when necessary (active bystanders).
My research identified several reasons for choosing women in this cohort. Firstly, 76% of the fatalities are male - they are husbands, partners, lovers, fathers, sons, brothers and soul mates. These women carry the burden of deaths and serious injuries in the family. They are stakeholders in the area of road incidents. They are an untapped resource to the community! Secondly, the 2021 Australian Census revealed two things - of the 2.65 million people who are carers (therefore have the skills needed), 70% are women; and more women than men hold part time employment, meaning they are potentially on the road running errands and not time pressured to get back to the office. The other main reason this group of women have been chosen is the leadership and management skills gained from many years of employment, managing a family and possibly also caring for aging parents. Who do you turn to in a crisis? Mum or a mum-like figure! Who would you like to help you when you are hurt?
My research identified several reasons for choosing women in this cohort. Firstly, 76% of the fatalities are male - they are husbands, partners, lovers, fathers, sons, brothers and soul mates. These women carry the burden of deaths and serious injuries in the family. They are stakeholders in the area of road incidents. They are an untapped resource to the community! Secondly, the 2021 Australian Census revealed two things - of the 2.65 million people who are carers (therefore have the skills needed), 70% are women; and more women than men hold part time employment, meaning they are potentially on the road running errands and not time pressured to get back to the office. The other main reason this group of women have been chosen is the leadership and management skills gained from many years of employment, managing a family and possibly also caring for aging parents. Who do you turn to in a crisis? Mum or a mum-like figure! Who would you like to help you when you are hurt?
Does than mean if I am not a woman aged 40-70 I can't join in?
Absolutely not. Everyone is welcomed. The more people trained as 'Prepared Bystanders' the greater the chance someone will know what to do at the scene of an incident. The more the merrier.
Research on the Bystander Effect, that is where some people leave help to another person or are embarrassed to be the first to step up, has shown the more competent someone is, the less likely the Bystander Effect will stop them. So, if we have several people at an accident scene helping, the easier it will be to manage. If you think about it, it is possible there will be more than one casualty if several cars or a truck is involved. So, whether you ride a bicycle, motorbike, scooter or are out on your feet a lot, if you are interested, don't wait until I get around to asking you, come knocking and let me know you are interested!
Research on the Bystander Effect, that is where some people leave help to another person or are embarrassed to be the first to step up, has shown the more competent someone is, the less likely the Bystander Effect will stop them. So, if we have several people at an accident scene helping, the easier it will be to manage. If you think about it, it is possible there will be more than one casualty if several cars or a truck is involved. So, whether you ride a bicycle, motorbike, scooter or are out on your feet a lot, if you are interested, don't wait until I get around to asking you, come knocking and let me know you are interested!
